Day at the Office
by awordycontradiction
Summary: He loved Spencer Hastings and that was putting them both in danger.


**Hi! so this is my first pretty little liar story... never really been into any couples or anything on this show, but I have always loved Toby and never been able to fully trust him, so finding out that he was part of the A team made me happy... and I'm not buying all those ideas of him only doing this to protect Spencer, though I like them together, I like the fact that he could be twisted, but I think he's more misunderstood... anyways, enjoy :) **

The phone repeatedly tapped on the desk. It could have been for hours, or for only just a second. He wasn't sure anymore. Not about time, not about anything. It wasn't supposed to go like this. His involvement wasn't meant to be for the long haul. He could see clearly now, he was played. They had found him at his lowest, during the days when he cried alone in alleyways and ran away looking for answers to questions that he failed to word. He was just another lost soul that they fed on, much like Mona. But this _business_ drove her crazy, and he swore he'd never let it get that far. But hasn't it already? He was told to get close to them,_ one _specifically. After everything happened with Emily he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to look at them again, any of them.

He blamed her, he blamed all four of them. But mostly Emily. If she hadn't freaked out that night of homecoming, he wouldn't have ran, they wouldn't have found him, this wouldn't have happened. They took advantage of him, of how vulnerable and confused he was. But nothing was worse than what had happened that very day. He let his feelings get the best of him, much like he always did around her, but this time was different, this time was fleeting, he knew, and he couldn't let anything happen without telling her he loved her. He had meant it every time. Every single time. And that scared him. He wasn't supposed to feel like this about her, he was supposed to still be angry, he was supposed to hate her. But one look into those big brown eyes, a smile or a smart ass remark, he was done for. He loved Spencer Hastings and that was putting them both in danger.

The phone went off, and it was the loudest sound in the world. Alone in the room, pictures of Allison, of the girls, of _his _girl, covering every free space of that motel room, felt like a live audience. He was quick to pick up _that_ phone. The one that seemed to cause terror and sleepless nights from the girls, it always amused him some, that a simple message, a jumbled mess of Mona's creation would put so much fear and anger into the four of them, it put so much passion into Spencer. He sometimes wanted her to just figure it out, call him on it, fight him, turn him in. he wasn't into this anymore, he didn't want to destroy her. After realizing that it was his own cell phone he fished it out of the black hoodie and saw her name flash across the screen. Part of him didn't want to answer. Didn't want to pretend, lie, steal her innocence anymore than he already did. On the fifth ring he picked up, swallowing his anguish.

"Hello?"

"Toby! Toby c-can you come to the hospital? Something happened, with Caleb."

"Spencer is everything okay?"

"Y-Yes...No! I... I just need you, please?"

"I'm on my way."

He pressed end and rose from the seat. He already knew what happened, knew that Nate, or whatever his name was nearly killed Emily, knew that Caleb came to save her, that a gun went off. He was proud of Emily, for sticking up for herself, fighting that monster off. He was truly praying for her. His first true friend. But around there, in that sick little club he had gotten himself into, she was just another doll to break. He shrugged off the jacket and stepped out of the black sweats. He looked in the mirror on his way out, just Toby. He liked being just Toby. He set that phone on the table. When it wasn't weighing him down, when he wasn't sitting there, making the calls, stringing along messages, pretending not to know when Spencer was hiding them from him, he felt like he could breathe.

He locked the door and drove himself the hospital. Just another act, just another day at the office.


End file.
